Winter tire shortage hits Sask.

Winter tire shortage hits Sask.

REGINA -- With snow expected to fall any day now, Saskatchewan tire retailers are expecting to get snowed under by drivers who want, but can’t get, winter tires.

New legislation was passed last December in Quebec, making it mandatory for all vehicles in that province to have snow tires this winter. The high demand for winter tires in that province means that supply is down in the rest of the country.

Lisa Wilson-Sturm, director of communications with CAA Saskatchewan, said that CAA Car Care Plus facilities in Regina and Saskatoon are feeling the shortage.

“Depending on the make of your vehicle and the size of tires you need, we might not have them in stock, or there might be a delay in getting them,” Wilson-Sturm said.

Laurie Wishira, zone manager with Kal Tire in Regina, said that Kal Tire is facing similar supply problems with specialty sized winter tires.

“When snow comes, you’ll see that the customer demand will drive up and the issue will be trying to meet that demand. Most major name brands (like) the Michelins and the Bridgestones of the world are a little bit leaner this year because of the demand in Quebec,” Wishira said.

Kal Tire may be better prepared than other retailers because it orders tires well in advance from a large supplier in Finland. CAA will have fewer winter tires in stock because, as Wilson-Sturm explained, the practice at Car Care Plus is to order tires as needed.

“This winter, we (have tried) to order them (but) they’re just not available. We can only guess that the reason is the Quebec legislation because we’ve never experienced this problem before,” she said.

She also said that there is an increase in demand for winter tires as compared to previous years. She wonders if the Quebec legislation is contributing to this demand as well.

“Even if you have four winter tires on your car, we don’t want people lulled into a false sense of security (and not) adjust their driving habits,” she said.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what kind of tires you have on your car. Adjusting your speed to the weather conditions is what’s most important.”

The Quebec legislation states that all drivers in the province must have four winter tires on their vehicles by Nov. 15 through to April 15, 2009. If caught without snow tires, drivers can be fined up to $300.

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